Getting to Saint Tropez Without a Car: Train, Bus, Ferry or Tour
The town has no railway station. You can still arrive without a car: by train and bus, by ferry across the gulf, or by boat from Nice or Cannes, and a Saint Tropez day trip does the whole thing for you. This guide sets out each route, what it costs where the price is published, and when it stops running.
Is there a train to Saint Tropez?
No. The nearest stations are Saint-Raphaël, Les Arcs-sur-Argens for Draguignan, and Toulon, each served by SNCF with TGV connections from the big French cities. From any of them you finish the journey by bus.
Saint-Raphaël is the usual choice, because the bus from there is the most direct. Toulon suits you if you are coming from the west along the coast.
How do you get there from Saint-Raphaël?
On the ZOU! 876, the regional bus, which runs roughly every hour from the station at Saint-Raphaël. The ride takes about an hour and a quarter, and fares start at €3.
The current timetable is valid from 1 September to 25 October 2026. If you travel later, check the next one before you plan a connection with your train.
Can you come from Toulon along the coast?
Yes, on the ZOU! 878, which follows the coast from Toulon, also from €3. It is the longer way round, so check its journey time on the timetable before you plan a connection.
Because it runs along the coast, the 878 also suits you if you are staying at a resort on the way rather than in Toulon itself. Check that your stop is on the line before you rely on it, and allow for the bus being slower than the train it connects with.
What about the airports?
Toulon-Hyères airport is about 49 km from the town, Nice Côte d'Azur about 91 km, and the small aerodrome at La Môle about 15 km. From Nice airport, the simplest car-free route is into Nice, then the boat from the port or the road day, which collects you at your hotel.
From Toulon-Hyères you continue by bus. Check the airport's own connections before you book a late flight.
How does the ferry across the gulf work?
Les Bateaux Verts run the shuttle boats across the gulf. The crossing takes 15 minutes from Sainte-Maxime, 20 to 25 from Port Grimaud and about 25 from Marines de Cogolin, and a fully electric boat has worked the routes since 2025. The company also serves Les Issambres and Saint-Aygulf.
Fares are set by the company and change by season, so check them at the quay. The ferry is also how you reach most of the boat tours if you stay in town: the Cogolin marina, where the catamaran, the bay boat and most Pershings berth, is one of its stops.
Can you arrive by sea from Nice or Cannes?
From May to October, yes, on the Trans Côte d'Azur boats. From Nice the boat leaves Quai Lunel at 09:00, lands at 11:30, sails back at 16:30 and reaches Nice at 19:00: two and a half hours each way, for $112 return.
From Cannes it leaves Quai Saint-Pierre at 10:15, lands at 11:30, sails back at 16:30 and is in Cannes at 17:45, for $93 return. Either way you get five hours in town. The boat from Nice has its own page, with the voucher desk and what to bring.
When do the sea boats stop?
The Cannes boat runs from 12 May to 20 October in 2026. It sails on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays until the end of June, every day in July and August, on the same four days in September, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 1 to 20 October.
End-of-season extra sailings run from 23 to 25 October, out at 09:30 and back at 17:15. The Nice boat runs from May to October; check its sailing days when you book. Next year's dates are not yet published, so after October the only car-free ways in are the bus and the ferry.
If you drive anyway, where do you park?
In one of the town's car parks, or at a street meter. Street parking costs €3.00 for an hour, €6.10 for two and €9.10 for three, then climbs to between €17.30 and €30.50.
| Car park | Address | Spaces | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parking du Nouveau Port | 1 avenue du Général de Gaulle | 1,477 | The largest |
| Parking des Lices | 41 avenue Paul Roussel | 307 | Underground |
| Parking Foch | 19 avenue de la Résistance | 100 | Small |
| Place du XVe Corps | In the town centre | 90 | The first two hours are free |
If you are staying across the gulf, leaving the car there and taking the ferry saves you the search for a space.
How do you get round town?
On foot, mostly: the port, the old quarter, the citadel and the market square are close together. For the rest, the electric town bus seats 22, runs Monday to Saturday from Place des Lices and costs €0.50 a ride.
The beaches of the peninsula and the hill villages are farther out. For those without a car, a van tour or a boat is the practical way to go.
Which route is cheapest?
The bus, by a distance: the ZOU! lines start at €3 a ride, plus your train fare to the station. The ferry across the gulf is priced at the quay and is the cheapest way over if you are already on the far side of the gulf.
By sea from the Riviera, a return seat costs $93 from Cannes and $112 from Nice, so a family of four pays about $375 or $449 for the day. The road day from Nice costs $145 a head, and that buys you a driver-guide, the pickup at your hotel and the ferry one way.
What if you arrive on a cruise ship?
Then you are already here, and the question is only how far to go. Ships at anchor bring you in by tender, and the town centre is on foot from the landing. The shared van tour meets in front of a hotel close to the tender pier, and the private town tour meets you where the tender lands.
Leave yourself a margin before the last tender back to the ship. A three-and-a-half-hour van tour of the hill villages fits most calls; a day on a boat round the gulf may not.
Which tours come to you?
The van days do. The private town tour collects you on the port, anywhere in town, in Ramatuelle, Gassin, Grimaud, La Croix-Valmer or Sainte-Maxime, and where the cruise tenders land. The wine day picks you up free within 10 km, and farther for a transfer fee. The flower day collects you around the gulf.
The road day from Nice collects you at your hotel in Nice. The boats do not collect from hotels. The half-day Pershing 45 collects you from four harbours, and the bay boat from three for €50.
Which way suits which base?
It depends on where you sleep. This is how the routes compare on time, fare and season.
| Route | Time | Fare | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Train to Saint-Raphaël, then the 876 | About 1 h 15 on the bus | Bus from €3 | Timetable valid to 25 October 2026 |
| Train to Toulon, then the 878 | Check the timetable | Bus from €3 | Check the timetable |
| Ferry across the gulf | 15 to 25 minutes | Paid at the quay | Check the timetable |
| Boat from Nice | 2.5 hours | $112 return | May to October |
| Boat from Cannes | 1 hour 15 | $93 return | 12 May-20 October 2026, extras 23-25 October |
| Road day from Nice | A day, with a guide | $145 | Check the date |
- Staying in Nice: the boat, or the road day if you want a guide.
- Staying in Cannes: the boat from the Old Port.
- Staying across the gulf: the ferry, fifteen to twenty-five minutes.
- Staying inland or to the west: the bus from Saint-Raphaël or Toulon.
Our guide to where to stay weighs the bases, and the visitor guide covers the town once you arrive.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a railway station in town?
Is there a ferry across the gulf?
Where can I park?
Can I get to Saint Tropez by boat from Nice or Cannes?
How do I get from Nice airport without a car?
How long is the bus from Saint-Raphaël?
Can I cancel?
Tours that get you there and back
From Nice: Round-Trip Transportation to Saint Tropez by Boat
A scheduled boat from the Port of Nice at 09:00: two and a half hours along the coast, five hours ashore, and back by 19:00. There is no guide; a bar sells drinks.
From $112 per person
Check Availability
Cannes: Round-Trip Boat Transfer to Saint Tropez
A scheduled boat from the Old Port of Cannes: an hour and a quarter each way and five hours ashore on your own. There is no guide, and drinks are sold on board.
From $93 per person
Check Availability
St Tropez and Port Grimaud Full Day Sightseeing Tour
Nine hours from your hotel in Nice with a driver-guide: the road to the gulf, a ferry across to town for about four hours, then the canal town on the way home.
From $145 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Staying long enough for a boat of your own? Our guide to what a private boat costs prices each one with its fuel. Every fare sits side by side on Saint Tropez Tours.